Kuro Coal Expands Panorama Anthracite Project
Perth, June 4, 2014 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Atrum Coal NL (
ASX:ATU) (ATRCF:OTCMKTS) is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary Kuro Coal Limited ("Kuro") (to list on the ASX under the ticker code 'KCO' following an IPO) has secured an additional 13 coal licences in the Panorama area, 20km west of Atrum's Groundhog Project in British Columbia, Canada.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Kuro Coal secures 13 additional contiguous coal licence applications for a total of 18,375 hectares in the Panorama area
- New ground is contiguous with the two coal licences of 850 hectares that are already subject to a proposed joint venture between Atrum Coal and Kuro Coal
- Notice of Work and licence conversion application initiated with drilling to commence shortly after grant
Commenting on the expansion of tenure, Executive Director Mr Russell Moran commented:
"Kuro has secured a dominant exploration footprint at Panorama. We are hopeful that a maiden exploration program this year will deliver new value opportunities for both Kuro and Atrum."
The newly secured coal licence applications are contiguous with the two granted coal licences that are already the subject of a proposed joint venture between Atrum and Kuro. It is anticipated that this new tenure will fall under the proposed joint venture arrangement which is expected to include a retained equity interest for Atrum in the Panorama project, a co-marketing arrangement and an infrastructure participation arrangement between the two joint venture participants.
The new tenure secured adds a further 18,375 hectares of exploration ground to an existing 850 hectares and represents a substantial increase.
Kuro is preparing a Notice of Works for the new ground and expects to lodge this together with an application to convert to coal licence status shortly in an effort to fast-track exploration. A maiden drill program is being designed and the Company is hopeful that exploration can commence later this year.
Atrum and Kuro are finalising documentation in relation to the proposed joint venture and spin-out and expect to make an announcement soon regarding the Record Date.
To view figures, please visit:
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-ATU-679813.pdf
About Atrum Coal Limited
Atrum Coal Limited (ASX:ATU) is a metallurgical coal developer. The Company flagship asset is the 100%-owned Elan Hard Coking Coal Project in southern Alberta, Canada. Elan hosts large-scale, shallow, thick, hard coking coal (HCC) deposits with a current JORC Resource Estimate of 298 Mt (70 Mt Indicated and 228 Mt Inferred). Comprehensive quality testing of Elan South coal on samples from the 2018 exploration program, combined with review of substantial historical testwork data for the broader Elan Project, has confirmed Tier 1 HCC quality.
The initial focus for development is the Elan South area, which is located approximately 13 km from an existing rail line with significant excess capacity, providing direct rail access to export terminals in Vancouver and Prince Rupert. Elan South shares its southern boundary with Riversdale Resources Grassy Mountain Project, which is in the final permitting stage for a 4.5 Mtpa open-cut HCC operation. Around 30km to the west, Teck Resources operates five mines (the Elk Valley complex) producing approximately 25 Mtpa of premium HCC for the seaborne market.
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